Make Your Own Almond Milk (It's Really Easy)

OK, when we figured out my husband's corn allergy this summer, and realized that the almond milk we buy had corn-derived ingredients in it (Almond Breeze Unsweetened, if you're curious) he suggested we make it. I was immediately against it. What a pain in the ass.

Boy was I wrong.

It's really easy, and I actually like how this stuff tastes, which I can't say that I did for the Almond Breeze. Why bother? Yes, we also buy corn free soymilk (WestSoy Unsweetened, Trader Joe's Unsweetened, and Eden Soy Extra Unsweetened are nothing but soybeans and water)- but baking with soymilk is pretty bad. Baked goods have this weird, smooth texture that I don't like. Baking with almond milk is (to me) just like baking with regular milk- baked goods turn out fluffy and delicious.

You do have to plan ahead a little, but we go through this stuff regularly enough that I seem to always have a cup of almonds soaking.

Ingredients:
1 cup raw (non-salted) almonds, soaked from anywhere from 4 hours to several days
3 cups water
1 T honey
your blender
a nut milk straining bag

Making Almond Milk- Soaked Almonds, a photo by zombie amelia on Flickr. 

Yes, I know that ideally, you should only soak your almonds from 4-8 hours, but I've not noticed any difference in the finished product if I soak them longer. You just get weird white fatty stuff soaking in your water. I soak the almonds at the ratio of 1 cup almonds to 2 cups water, and just set it out in a Pyrex glass measuring container on the counter and leave it there.

Once your almonds are soaked, strain them (discard the soaking water) and rinse them off. Put in the blender with the water and the honey.

Making Almond Milk- Before Blending, a photo by zombie amelia on Flickr. 

Puree that stuff. For a minute or two.

Making Almond Milk- After Blending, a photo by zombie amelia on Flickr. 

Once you've pureed it for a few minutes, pour it into a container through your strainer bag. The strainer bag is really helpful. I tried it with a mesh colander and it was all over the place.

Making Almond Milk- Straining Bits, a photo by zombie amelia on Flickr. 

Remove the bag from the milk and squeeze the milk out of the bag, discard the almond bits.
This recipe makes about 3 cups of milk.